Sir Michael says people caring for relatives not to be afraid to complain

Sir Michael Parkinson has urged those looking after people with dementia to check care homes very carefully. He has likened the ‘appalling standards’ he saw after his own mother’s battle with dementia as ‘like going back to the Victorian times and bedlam.’ The veteran broadcaster and former chat show host has urged people caring for relatives with dementia not to be afraid to ask difficult questions or complain if they are worried about the standard of care their loved ones are receiving.

He said: ‘You should be very careful – if you can be and you have a choice – about where you send them. And keep your eye out and don’t be frightened of complaining. Ask what’s happening, what’s going on, because sometimes the care is not sufficient, I have to say.’ Sir Michael’s mother Freda Rose died with dementia at the age of 96 after battling the condition for several years. He has spoken movingly about the pain of watching his ‘sharp and articulate’ mother become ‘a total stranger.’ He said that Freda, who was cared for in several homes of varying standards while she was ill, hated being patronised or shouted at despite not being deaf.